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‘Am I that bad?’: Kuldeep Yadav recalls emotions after KKR's snub from playing XI

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Kuldeep Yadav has suffered a steep downward curve in his career. From being called as India’s number one spinner after claiming a fifer in Australia in 2019, to not finding a place in even an IPL playing XI, Kuldeep’s career has gone full circle.

He warmed the benches for both India and KKR while newcomers came and performed on their ways to success. He also lost his place in the ODI team due to poor returns in the wicket column and leaking too many runs.

He has felt disappointment over missing a place in the Indian team, but the exclusion at the KKR has particularly affected him leading him to question his own abilities.

In an interview with The Indian Express, Kuldeep said that the Knight Riders did not play him even in Chennai where pitches were tailor-made for spinners like him. The exclusion left him shocked but he was helpless at it.

“I was especially when I didn’t find a place in my IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders. I wondered, ‘am I that bad?’ It’s a team-management decision and it would be wrong to go and ask them. I wasn’t played in Chennai during the IPL despite knowing it’s a turner. I was a bit shocked but couldn’t do anything. The bio-bubble life has also thrown challenges for everyone. When I am not playing, nothing looks nice,” Kuldeep said.

Kuldeep has also been dropped from a jumbo Indian squad for the tour of the UK where they will play New Zealand and England. India have selected four spinners in Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar but Kuldeep has not found a place in the team.

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Having a beer with the team after five days’ toil is what I’ll miss the most: BJ Watling to retire after England tour

New Zealand’s test wicket-keeper batsman BJ Watling has decided to call it day on his cricketing career and the Blackcaps’ tour to England this summer would be his last international affair. “It’s the right time. It’s been a huge honour to represent New Zealand and in particular, wear the Test baggy,” said Watling announcing the news of his retirement. “Test cricket really is the pinnacle of the game and I’ve loved every minute of being out there in the whites with the boys. Sitting in the changing rooms having a beer with the team after five days’ toil is what I’ll miss the most,” added an emotional Durban born, who had to expedite the announcement which he would have made on the tour. Due to the central contracts’ announcement in few days, Watling and New Zealand Cricket assumed it would be better to end all sorts of speculation regarding Watling’s career even before they were formed. The 35-year-old, who represented New Zealand in 73 Tests having made his debut in 2009 as an opening batsman, could however go on to become the most capped New Zealand wicket-keeper if he plays all three games on the tour. Adam Parore played 67 games as a wicket-keeper batsman for New Zealand and Watling has already played 65. So if he plays the two Tests against England and then also play the World Test Championship Final against India scheduled to begin on June 18, he will get past Parore. Thanking his mother and wife for the help they have bestowed upon him throughout his 17-year long professional career, Watling said, “My wife Jess has been a constant source of stability and support and I’m certainly looking forward to being able to spend more time with her and the kids. I also owe a big thanks to my mum for steering me in the right direction early on and always being there for me.” Watling, who holds the record for most dismissals by a Kiwi wicket-keeper in test cricket with 249 catches and eight stumpings believes that the tour of England could be challenging for him on many levels. “This tour will be a challenge on a few levels and we know as a team we will need to be at the very top of our game if we want to succeed,” he said. Speaking on the occasion, NZC Chief David White praised Watling for his fighting spirit saying, “BJ turned games around. I can’t think of another player who reacted so positively, and who was successful in the face of adversity.” “BJ’s been a huge part of the success of the current BLACKCAPS team and on behalf of NZC, I want to wish him well for the upcoming Tests in England and life after cricket,” he added about the Norther Districts player who holds the record for most wicket-keeper -bowler combination dismissals for New Zealand alongside Tim Southee. The two between them have 73 dismissals, the sixth most in the world, only behind the legendary wicket-keepers like Adam Gilchrist, Mark Boucher and Rodney Marsh. New Zealand coach Gary Stead too praised Watling, remembering his best ever performance with the bat. “You just have to look at the respect he’s held in by his teammates and the opposition to appreciate his standing in the game,’ he said. “That double hundred he scored at the Mount in 2019 was one of the best innings I’ve ever seen and epitomised BJ Watling as a player, really. The attitude and fight he brings to every day and every session of a Test is what has made him such a valued member of the BLACKCAPS,” added the coach. Watling, who had quite a few record partnerships for the Kiwis in the Test arena, scored his maiden double century, becoming the only wicket-keeper batsman to score a double hundred against England in cricket’s 142-year-old history when he made 205 at Mount Mangunai in 2019. Thanks to his Man of the Match performance, the Blackcaps won the Test series as the second match was drawn, after New Zealand won the first by an innings and 65 runs. In total, Watling has so far scored 3777 runs with the help of eight centuries and 14 half-centuries at a healthy average of 38.11 in 114 innings.

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Lasith Malinga might play for Sri Lanka in World T20

Sri Lanka fast bowler Lasith Malinga might be seen donning the Sri Lankan jersey in the World T20 slated to take place in India in later this year. "We will talk to Lasith soon. He is in our plans for the forthcoming T20 tours, including the T20 World Cup coming up in October," said national selection committee chairman Pramodya Wickramasinghe. Wickramasinghe further said that they are looking for a long term plan. "We are working out a long-term plan aiming at the 2023 (50-over) World Cup. There, our main focus is to adjust ourselves to forming an accurate average in terms of two main aspects. Those are the age and the fitness," Wickramasinghe told Morning Sports. The right-arm fast bowler who had bid adieu to ODI cricket was released by the Mumbai Indians franchise ahead of the mini auctions that took place in February in Chennai. He has scalped 170 wickets in 122 matches that he has played for the side. With two back-to-back World T20s lined up in 2021 and 2022, Sri Lanka are seeking services of an experienced player. "There are two back-to-back T20 World Cups that are coming up, this year and next year. We are going to discuss our plans with him when we meet him in the next couple of days," said Wickramasinghe. Malinga too has shown his interest in being a part of the setup. “I also am keen to know how the selection committee is going to get the services of a senior player like me for the national side,” Malinga said.